Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh resigns amid corruption allegations

Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh tendered his resignation after the Bombay High Court ordered a CBI probe against the NCP leader.

Mumbai: Amid corruption allegations, Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh tendered his resignation on Monday after the Bombay High Court ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation probe against the NCP leader.

Former Mumbai Police chief Param Bir Singh had alleged that Deshmukh fixed a Rs 100-crore collection target for suspended assistant police inspector Sachin Waze.

The Minister posted his resignation on letter in microblogging site Twitter.

pic.twitter.com/xVZrfwmwPl — ANIL DESHMUKH (@AnilDeshmukhNCP) April 5, 2021

Earlier, the Bombay High Court had directed the CBI to begin a preliminary inquiry within 15 days into corruption the allegations Deshmukh. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Girish Kulkarni ruled that this was an 'extraordinary' and 'unprecedented' case that warranted an independent inquiry.

The High Court, while hearing on Dr Jaishri Patil's plea regarding allegations, stated that Anil Deshmukh is the Home Minister and no impartial probe can be done by the police.

On March 20, former Mumbai top cop in his eight-page letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had claimed that Deshmukh is involved in a massive corruption ring.

In his letter, Singh had alleged that the Maharashtra Home Minister has set a monthly target of collecting Rs 100 crore from bars and hotels in the financial capital.

However, Deshmukh had refuted all allegations against him.